Bulgaria was forced to postpone its support for the start of negotiations for EU membership of the Republic of North Macedonia at the General Affairs Council meeting held on June 22, 2021.

At the same meeting, Bulgaria gave a positive assessment of the achievements of the Republic of Albania in the reform process and said its "yes" to the adoption of its negotiating framework - this is stated in the position of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Bulgaria’s position on the European perspective of  Republic of North Macedonia, is consistent and clear. It is in line with our conviction that EU enlargement policy should be based on the fulfillment of the Copenhagen criteria for membership in the Union and the principles of one's own merits.

Bulgaria continues to hold on to reliable guarantees that our fundamental interests will not be violated. The practice of trampling on the rights of people with Bulgarian identity in the Republic of North Macedonia must be stopped. We hold on to  in the full and effective implementation of the 2017 Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation.

Support for EU enlargement with the countries of the Western Balkans remains a priority of Bulgarian foreign policy and our unwavering commitment. In this regard, we are determined to continue the dialogue with the Republic of North Macedonia and are focused on finding pragmatic, sustainable and mutually acceptable solutions to the challenges inherited from the pa

These are some of the key points of the statement of Bulgarian Foreign Ministry after the EU Summit in Brussels.

In the recent visit  of N.Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, as well as in the talks between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs Svetlan Stoev and Buyar Osmani, the Republic of North Macedonia expressed readiness to fulfil the following commitments:

- Skopje to confirm to the UN as soon as possible, in accordance with Art. 11 para. 3 of the good neighbourliness agreement that the short and full name of the country refer only to the political subject "Republic of North Macedonia" and not to the geographical region "North Macedonia", part of which is located within the sovereign borders of Bulgaria. After sending this Verbal Note, Bulgaria will immediately stop insisting on the use of only the full name "Republic of North Macedonia" in the EU and international organizations;

- The Republic of North Macedonia to give up claims of Macedonia minority in Bulgaria, confirming that there are no historical, ethnic and other grounds to seek minority status for any group of people who are not its citizens in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria. This would be in accordance with the clause for non-interference in the internal affairs of Bulgaria, settled in Art. 11 para. 5 of the Treaty of 2017;

- The Republic of North Macedonia to start a process of rehabilitation of the victims of Yugoslav communism, repressed on its territory because of their Bulgarian self-consciousness. This historic gesture on the part of the Republic of North Macedonia would in practice reflect our common European civilization choice;

- The Republic of Nort Macedonia to harmonise with Bulgaria the content of its curricula in order to objectively reflect our common history, laid down as a central element in the Preamble and Art. 8 para. 3 of the Treaty of Good Neighbourliness, as well as with a view to the elimination of educational content instilling hate towards Bulgaria (Art. 11 para. 6);

- Identification together with Bulgaria and removal from labels and inscriptions at monuments, memorial plates and buildings on the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia, of texts instilling hate against Bulgaria and the Bulgarians.

Firm condition set by Bulgaria for the beginning of the negotiations with N.Macedonia is the effective implementation of the Treaty between the two states. This is an internal process for the EU. At the same time, the open approach demonstrated by the Republic of North Macedonia on this topic, incl. the adoption of the good neighbourliness criiteria in the Negotiating Framework, should be welcomed./bnt